


Having You (In My Space)

by i_amthecosmos



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bisexual Liam, Drinking, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Prompt Fill, cooking while drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 07:13:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5154983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Niall come back to Niall's house a bit drunk and a lot hungry. So they try to cook something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Having You (In My Space)

Niall couldn’t really remember why he decided to go out, but he was glad he did. “We’re home!” he said, maybe too loud (but he didn’t have roommates, no problem then), with Liam behind him. Liam was a bit less pissed than he was, but he was red-faced and smiling, good things far as Niall was concerned. “Let’s get another beer, in the kitchen,” Niall said.

“We should probably drink some water and go to bed,” Liam said, annoying in his practicality. “We’ve already had a lot, right?” Niall would have rolled his eyes at anyone else, but Liam was just being himself-he looked after himself and others when he could. “I could go for something to eat, though.”

“Brilliant idea, brilliant. Glad I invited you over.” Niall was in Ireland for a while, in the fancy flat he kept there, and Liam was staying for a few days. Despite the fact that they had been in each other’s pockets for literal years, Niall had missed the lads and asked them all if they wanted to come to his place for a bit. Liam was the one that said yes. “Let’s go make something.”

“Um, maybe we should just heat something up in the microwave? Or eat some cold pizza? We’re a bit too drunk to use the stove, don’t you think?” Niall shook his head, he could do this. He got a big saucepan, put some water in it, and sat it on the stove. Liam went over and flicked it on for him as Niall got some potatoes. 

“Thanks Li, I needed that.” Niall got out a rather long, sharp knife, and Niall could see Liam’s eyebrows go up in the corner of his eye as he tried to peel and hack the potatoes into somewhat equal shapes. 

“Maybe I can do that,” Liam finally said, and he came over, gently taking the knife out of Niall’s hand.

“Suit yerself, I’m going to get the cheddar and eggs out then.” Niall stumbled to the fridge, and got some good Cheddar out, two eggs, and some frozen peas. He went and put all that down on the counter, and then got himself another beer. By the time Niall had grated the cheese (by hand, why mess up the food processor), Liam had the potatoes cubed and he gently put them in the simmering water. 

“What are you gonna do?” Liam said, and Niall opened his bottle and took a long drink. He offered it to Liam, who shook his head. “That seems a bit involved.”

“It’s easy really,” Niall said. “I’m just gonna make some potatoes in cheese and egg sauce, simple. I saw it on a cooking programme one night when I couldn’t sleep. Oh, I need bacon!” Niall turned back to the fridge and one of his eggs rolled off the counter, falling with a smack onto the floor and breaking. “Shit.” 

“I got it,” Liam said, and he grabbed a paper towel and bent down. Niall got the bacon and another egg as Liam cleaned up the floor. “You should mop in here a bit more,” Liam said, putting the dirty paper towel on the counter and getting a bowl to hold the eggs. 

“I can do that tomorrow,” Niall says, He’d rather do it himself than get a maid, most of the time. He does have an agency he can call, but generally he liked to look after his own space. “Thanks. Okay, I need a frying pan, good-sized. Gonna put the bacon on.” Niall moved by Liam and tries to remember where his pans are. “Okay, here we go.” He opened up a cupboard on the bottom, accidently smacking Liam’s leg with it, and got it on the stove. Soon he had the bacon going, and then he checked the potatoes. “Getting there,” he muttered, 

“Anything I can do?” Liam said as Niall went over to the eggs, taking them out of the little bowl and then cracking them, putting the egg innards right back in, then adding the cheese and mixing it all up. 

“Just help me keep an eye out, you’re not as drunk as me I don’t think.” Liam nodded, and Niall looked back over at the potatoes. “I think they’re close, pour a bit of these peas in there with ‘em, okay?”

“Sure Niall,” Liam said, and Niall looked over at his bacon-it needed a flip over. But he waited a bit because Liam was right there and he didn’t want to trip him and have him land face-first into boiling water. It was not the kind of break publicity they needed. 

“Hand me a spatula?” Liam looked around and found it, over in a tall silver holder with other useful things, and gave it to Niall. “Thanks. Now check the potatoes and peas. Think you can drain that without hurin’ yourself Lima?” 

“Yeah, just let me-“ and as Niall watched, Liam took the pan of boiling water and tipped it over the sink, pouring everything in. “Oh,” Liam said, blinking at the mess he made. “I forgot the colander.” 

“Yes, that you did,” Niall said, flipping off the stove and taking the skillet off the heat. “What on Earth possessed you to do that? And how am I gonna get all that sludge out?” 

“Don’t do it now, it’s too hot,” Liam said, staring at it. He looked pretty embarrassed, and Niall put an arm around, patting his shoulder. “I’m sorry I messed up your little potato thing.”

“That’s alright, I got bacon and I got some eggs and cheddar, maybe I can make that into an omelet or something.” Niall looked down at the steaming mound of potatoes in his sink, and sighed. “Nothing turns out like you think it will.” He went back to the fridge, to find some butter. 

“We know that better than anyone,” Liam said, nodding. “We got the world, and it was insane. More than we ever thought.” 

“World’s big, as it turns out,” Niall agreed as he found a fresh pan, smaller than the first, and put a knob of butter in it to melt. “Let me add another egg or two to this, it’ll be enough for both of us.” He turned around, but Liam was already at the fridge, getting out two more eggs and cracking them into the mixture. “More cheese too, or is that enough?” 

“Looks good, let’s add some salt.” Liam sprinkled a bit over, then some pepper, then handed the bowl to Niall. “Thanks for calling me up, I was a bit bored. Sophia is out of the house for a while. We weren’t even fighting, I just think all this time together is a bit much for her.” 

Niall nodded as Liam spoke, even though he already knew this. Liam had forgotten that he told Niall this over their pints. He slowly poured the egg mixture over the melted butter, and he watched as it set. “Are you very upset, Liam? You seem to be taking this in stride.” Niall could never be sure with Liam though: he could hide his emotions better than anyone besides Louis.

“I don’t know. It comes and goes. You know, she was always really open minded about my bisexuality, it didn’t threaten her, but when we were together more, maybe that started to nag at her? It’s not like I was cheating on the road, she was there for most of it anyway.”

“I know you weren’t cheating, Liam.” Niall did too, he never really got caught doing anything wrong. “I don’t think it’s got that much to do with you likin’ both. Maybe she’s just getting cold feet now that you’re like regular couples. She might come back, she has before.” Niall watched the omelet and after a moment’s waiting, flipped it over. 

“Yeah, I don’t know how I’d feel about that.” Niall turned to look at him, a bit surprised, and Liam shrugged. “I know I’ve always hated being alone, always wanted someone to be with me so I could feel like I was doing something right. But maybe I need to grow up, stop wanting someone else to make me whole. I’m sorry, it’s stupid.” Niall turned back to his omelet and poked at it a bit. It was almost done. 

“You’re not stupid Liam, here, get me a couple of plates.” Liam went to the cupboard and came back with them. Niall waited another minute or so, and then got the omelet on a spatula and on one of the plates flat. Then he looked for a knife, cut the omelet in half, and put half on Liam’s plate. Then he got the bacon and put one piece on each plate. “There. Now we can eat.” 

“Thanks,” Liam said. “Gonna put this on the table and find something to drink.” Niall fixed his plate as Liam got himself some water, and offered some to Niall. Niall shook his head and got his beer, and sat next to Liam. 

They both nibbled at their food in silence for a few minutes-Niall fetching some plastic forks, not wanting to bother with real ones right then. Liam stabbed at his omelet with the fork, frowning. “Want a silver one?” 

“It’s fine, I’m hungry enough to just use my hands.” Liam finished his in minutes, and Niall soon followed him. “Okay, now we can go to bed, unless you want to watch Netflix.” Liam wiped his mouth with his hand, which got Niall’s attention. It was a little hot.

“I reckon we can go to bed if you want,” Niall got up to go brush his teeth while Liam took the plates to the dishwasher while Niall got ready for bed. Niall hadn’t been home very long, so he was still always a bit surprised to see his actual bed, and not a hotel one while he was out God knows where. He snuggled into bed, smiling. 

After a few minutes, Liam came out of the bathroom, looking over at him. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” Usually when Liam would ask this, he would make an excuse, claim his room was drafty or something. This time he didn’t bother. 

“Yeah mate, ‘course.” Niall scooted over and Liam came in, closing the door. The room was a lot darker now. Liam shuffled around until after a minute, Niall could feel him move close, until Liam was spooning him. Liam dropped a small kiss on his cheek, and Niall wondered if Liam was going to make a real move, instead of keeping it to fantasy and a few stolen kisses. 

“Liam,” he said, and Liam snuffled sleepily. “Oh, never mind,” he said. Liam seemed to be well on his way to sleep, and he wouldn’t stop him. Then he heard a snore, and Niall closed his eyes, letting himself drift asleep. 

Niall woke up the next morning to Liam scooping potatoes out of the sink. He just grunted and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. He was normally cheerful in the mornings, but he was a bit hungover and a bit tired. And finally, a bit confused to what Liam wanted of him. “Hey,” he said, rather short. 

“Oh, hi,” Liam said, looking surprised. He put down the paper plate he was using to scoop the potatoes. “Do you want me to put on the kettle? I can fix tea for us. You look like you could use one.” Niall nodded and Liam put some of the potatoes in the garbage before going to get the kettle. Niall stood in the middle of his kitchen and drank his water in silence. After a minute he put the water on the counter and went to help with the potatoes. When he was done, Liam was fixing their cups. Niall took his and went to the kitchen table. 

“Are you alright Niall?” Liam said, going to sit by him with his tea and a scone. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to go for a run, but you don’t look really in the mood for it. I might have to leave soon, I should see about my dogs…”

“When, Liam?” Niall said, shutting Liam up for a second. “I thought maybe you’d really do something last night. You said that you might not take Soph back, so when you got in bed with me, I thought…” Niall trailed off. “I guess I need to stop wishing for things that’ll never happen.” He took another sip of tea-Liam had made it perfect. That only made him more cross.

“I’m sorry,” Liam said, and Niall figured that was it, nothing was ever going to happen between them, when Liam followed that with “I wouldn’t have tried anything when we were drunk, you know me, I want to be sure. I was going to ask you today, actually. I even thought of making a big breakfast, but then you woke up.”

“You were gonna ask me what?” Niall said. He was still suspicious. “Because I already know you, we don’t need to have dates and ask each other stupid questions. At this point the only thing we haven’t done is fuck. And last night, you were still on the fence about wanting to be involved with anyone at all.”

“I know. That’s what I was going to try to ask you. I mean, you know how shy I get with these sorts of things. Poor Sophia would have to prompt me all the time.” Liam reached across the table to touch Niall’s hand. “And yeah, it’s scary for me, thinking about getting involved with you so soon. But I think I can do it.”

“Well first, try not to compare me to Sophia if we’re gonna do this. And secondly, let me get a scone or two now that my stomach’s starting to settle, and maybe we can go back to bed. Or at least kiss. Okay?” 

Liam grinned. “I can make you bacon, even.” 

“Good.” Niall smiled back then, and figured this day was looking up.


End file.
